Lady Gaga Blamed for Eye-Endangering Contact-Lens Trend

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Apparently, Lady Gaga’s creepy doll-like eyes in the “Bad Romance” video have touched off an international trend of wearing “circle contacts,” a type of colored contact lenses that make one’s irises appear larger than normal, reports the New York Times. Normally this would be like any other Gaga-esque fad — pantslessness, lobster-claw shoes, etc. — which are of questionable taste but ultimately harmless (the occasional stumble notwithstanding). These contacts, on the other hand, are actually dangerous and illegal, and wearers “risk significant eye injuries — even blindness,” according to FDA spokeswoman Karen Riley. Why do these little lenses pose such a hazard? Because it’s illegal to sell contacts — corrective or cosmetic — without a prescription, since ill-fitting ones can cut off oxygen to your eyes.

But suffocating eyeballs be damned! Gaga fans are pursuing the otherworldly anime look with fervor, ordering the $20-$30 lenses online. The Times quotes several girls who overcame their initial skepticism to become “circle lens addicts”; so far, not one of them has reported any vision problems. As for Gaga herself? Her look was most likely digitally created. [NYT]